David Hume is a philosopher and historian who was born in Edinburgh, Scotland in 1711. He is best known for his work on epistemology and philosophy of mind.
Hume was born on April 26, 1711, in Edinburgh, Scotland. His father died when he was only 7 years old, and he spent most of his childhood with relatives on his mother’s side. He began studying at the University of Edinburgh when he was 13 years old, but left school after three years without receiving a degree. He then became a tutor for many wealthy families throughout England before returning to Scotland where he lived with Sir John Pringle, an eminent physician.
Actually, Hume was interested in science as well as philosophy and literature. In 1734 he traveled to France where he met other intellectuals such as Voltaire and Jean-Jacques Rousseau and became friends with Abbe Raynal who introduced him to important figures in French society like Madame de Pompadour and Louis XV himself. Hume also befriended Thomas Pringle who introduced him to Samuel Johnson when they both visited London together in 1745; Johnson later wrote that “I had the happiness of introducing this great man (Hume) to Mr. Edward Gibbon”.
Philosopher was one of the earliest empiricists, meaning he believed that all knowledge comes from experience rather than reason or innate ideas. His views on causality were also radical — he believed that there is no sense in which one event causes another event because they are unrelated events (in fact he argues that causation is an illusion).
